Download a group of patents from a list — without selecting and displaying each record
Create a new Work File by importing your list of patent numbers into the Work File tool. Then view the Work File and, from the Work File Result Set view, choose the PDF Express tab to download the patents all at once (up to 500 patents).

Find out more about Work Files and PDF Express in the Delphion Help Center.

Find a US patent issued before 1971
The primary method for locating US patents granted before 1971 is to search by patent number on the Quick/Number form.

Only images are available for US patents granted before 1971. What "only images" means is that we have scanned images of the individual patents, but the text of those patents is not searchable.

However, if you do not know the number of the patent you want, there may still be ways you can find it. One method is to search for post-1971 related patents that might reference the one you want.

For example: you are looking for an early patent on non-glare glass and you do not have the patent number. You know that the inventor is "blodgett" and you know that the patent would be in the US Granted collection. You also know that this patent was issued prior to 1971 so the text of the patent is not searchable.

1. Go to the Advanced search form
2. In the Any Field box, enter non-glare
3. Leave the Select collection(s) box defaulted to U.S. (Granted Patents)
4. Scroll to the U.S. Specific Fields section of the form
5. Enter blodgett under U.S. References
6. Submit your query

The information in the U.S. References text area of a patent includes not only patent numbers, but their issue dates (yyyy-mm) and inventor surnames as well. You know that blodgett is the inventor so you are asking for any patent that has blodgett in the U.S. References field.

The word non-glare was used as a way to help narrow the search. For example, (blodgett <in> usrefs) yields over 600 matches. But when you narrow your search in this manner ((blodgett <in> usrefs) AND non-glare), your Result Set has under 5 matches.

Your result set will contain all of the patents containing the word non-glare that also have the word blodgett in the U.S. References field. The Blodgett patent for non-glare glass should be referenced by at least one of the patents in your Result Set. If the patent you are looking for is not referenced by one of the patents in this Result Set, consider using a different word to narrow your search. Instead of non-glare, try glass. This search yielded a Result Set with less than 20 matches and several of the matches referenced the Blodgett patent we were looking for: ((blodgett <in> usrefs) AND glass).

See the Collection Details page for a full description of what is available for all the different collections.

Find patents not assigned when issued
You can find patents that were not assigned at the time the patent was issued by searching for "NULL" in the Assignee field. Your query should look like this:

(<not> (* <in> assignee))

Retrieve documents ordered by proximity of search terms
The <near> and <near/n> proximity operators allow you to retrieve documents which are relevance-ranked based on the closeness (proximity) of the specified words.

<near> selects documents containing your specified search terms. Delphion's search engine scores a 0 for documents where the search terms are not within 1024 words of each other. The closer the search terms are within a document, the higher the document’s relevancy score.

<near/n> selects documents containing two or more search terms within a specified number of words of each other. n can be an integer up to 1024. Once again, the closer the search terms are within a document, the higher the document’s score.

Neither the <near> or the <near/n> operators specify the order of the terms. To specify the order of the terms, use <order> preceding the <near> or <near/n> operators.

Note: You cannot use a NOT command in conjunction with a proximity operator.

Example 1, the <near> operator:
The following queries demonstrate the syntax for the <near> operator:

coffee <near> filter (This Result Set will include all records with the word coffee near the word filter.)

(coffee <near> filter) <in> description (This Result Set will include all records with the word coffee near the word filter in the Description field.)

(coffee <near> filter) <in> (abstract,claims) (This Result Set will include all records with the word coffee near the word filter in the Abstract or Claims fields.)

((dog OR cat) <near> carrier) <in> description (This Result Set will include all records with the word dog or the word cat near the word carrier in the Description field.)

It is important to remember that the closer the search terms are to each other, the higher the relevancy score of the document.

Example 2, the <near/n> operator:
The following queries demonstrate the syntax for the <near/n> operator as well as the difference in Result Sets when the variable is changed:

(inorganic <near/10> solvents) <in> claims (over 1,000 records found for collection searched)

(inorganic <near/100> solvents) <in> claims (over 4,000 records found for collection searched)

(inorganic <near/300> solvents) <in> claims (over 5,000 records found for collection searched)

Remember that the closer the search terms are to each other, the higher the relevancy score of the document.

Example 3, the <order> operator used in conjunction with <near> and <near/n>:
The following queries demonstrate the syntax for using the <order> operator to specify the order in which the target words should appear to meet the criteria for your query when using the <near> and <near/n> operators.

((dog OR cat OR pet) <order><near> (cage OR carrier)) <in> description

For this query, records with the words dog, cat or pet near the words cage or carrier will be found — but only those instances in which dog, cat or pet precede the word cage or carrier. If the <order> operator had not been used, then the Result Set would also include instances in which cage or carrier appeared before dog, cat or pet.

(((wire OR mesh OR screen) <order><near> (dog OR cat OR pet)) <order><near> (cage OR carrier)) <in> abstract

The Result Set for this query contains records with the word wire, mesh or screen near but preceding the word dog, cat or pet which is near but precedes the word cage or carrier. Following is an abstract from a patent in the Result Set for this query:

A collapsible pet enclosure that is fashioned to fit in standard windows and has removable material coverings and screen panels on all sides. Domestic animals can use the enclosure to enjoy the out doors with out the owners fearing for their safety or health, as is the case in letting pets out of doors on the ground level. There are detachable wheels as part of the unit that convert the enclosure to a mobile pet carrier, that one may roll instead of carry.

The <near/n> operator works in much the same way — but allows you to specify the maximum distance between your target words and still have the words appear in a preferred order. Following is an example of using <order> with <near/n>:

(((inventory OR component OR parts) <order><near/10> (management OR tracking OR location) <order><near/15> ("bar code" OR hand-held OR wireless)) <in> abstract

This Result Set for this query will include all records with management or tracking or location within 10 words of inventory or component or parts and then, within 15 words of that word combination, the word(s) "bar code" or hand-held or wireless must appear. When this search is done with the <near/n> operator, a Result Set shows 17 patents — done with just the <near> operator, the Result Set had over 100 patents. So you can see how the <near/n> operator can help refine your search. Following is an abstract from a patent in the Result Set for this query:

A method of inventory management is described. Upon activation of a button on a wireless device, the wireless device having a light source and a transceiver with a unique media address corresponding to a unique product, the device broadcasts a first signal including an order command and the unique media address by the transceiver via a wireless medium. A central controller then receives the first signal, identifies the unique media address included in the first signal, and using a database, identifies the unique product associated with the unique media address.

Extract Derwent World Patents Index^® fields when extracting first-level patent office data
With Data Extract, you can retrieve the Derwent World Patents Index (DWPI^SM) fields — including the title — with your extract of first-level patent office data. Using the DWPI title can help simplify and speed your research because it is written in clear, consistent, industry-specific terms and is often more meaningful than the original patent title.

Basic Search Reminders: Did you know that...

• Stemming automatically occurs on Delphion, that is, when you enter a word, all words with the same stem are retrieved (e.g., prime retrieves primate, primaries, etc.). If you want the exact word, enclose it in quotation marks (e.g., “prime”).
  
  
• Delphion automatically performs phrase searching (e.g., O ptical fiber returns a result set that includes optical fiber, optical fibers and optic fiber.). To search a non-exact phrase, use parentheses and the AND connector (e.g., (Optical and fiber provides fiber optic, optical fiber and optical glass fiber.).
  
  
• Delphion processes queries in a particular order. For example, when using the AND and OR operators in the same query, place the words ORed together in parentheses: (CAT OR FELINE) AND DISEASE. If you want to search for patents with the words feline and disease in the Title, enter : (FELINE AND DISEASE) <in> title.

What happens if you want to import patent numbers into a work file and the patents you requested are not available?
Delphion provides alternative/equivalent patents if the ones you requested are not available. You can view the equivalents in a Work File Validation Report. The Report tells you the number of requested patents replaced by equivalents and provides a link from which you can review details about the substitution(s). To accept the equivalents, click Save; to refuse, click Cancel Import, which cancels the entire Work File import operation.

How do you make sure you have all patents (granted patents and unexamined applications) of a company that has merged with another company?
In this example you want to conduct a comprehensive search for Boeing patents. To conduct this search, you need to take into account not only original Boeing patents but any that have been reassigned to Boeing through mergers and acquisitions. McDonnell Douglas and Boeing merged in 1997; therefore, you cannot assume Boeing will be the name on patents published after the merger so you want to include patents from McDonnell Douglas that may now belong to Boeing. If a patent is reassigned, the name on the document keeps the name as it appeared on the original patent; thus, it can make the job of finding a patent difficult.

Using Delphion field search tool and the Corporate Tree feature helps to capture this information to retrieve these hard to find patents. Here’s how:

1. From the Boolean search field box, choose assignee from the drop-down list, enter the company names Boeing OR Mcdonnell, and the countries you wish to search against. This part of the search searches all selected countries for the names entered, over 44 million patents.
   
   
2. Click the Corporate Tree button to the right of the Assignee names to display the Corporate Tree, enter the company name Boeing and click the Original Assignee button. This will search unexamined and granted documents that Boeing has submitted to the U.S. patent office. Note that Delphion lists the approximate number of patents submitted to the right of each entry. Check all of the Boeing entries you want to add to your search and click the Save button. Note: You can also select any McDonnell Douglas entries that might appear.
   
   
3. Select Corporate Tree again to find patents that are collected using merger, acquisition and cited reference data, type Boeing and click the Hierarchy button. The search is now looking at U.S. granted patents, EP applications and granted patents, and PCT and WO applications. Select Save to populate the Boolean search form.

You now have a completed Boolean search page. Make sure to select the OR operator to put the parts of this search together.

How do I merge my Work Files?
Work Files function like file folders containing Result Sets for the specific patent records that you want.

1. From the Work File Administration page, in the ID column, check the Work Files you want to merge.
   
   
2. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and choose the method you want to use for the merge.
   
   
   • Choose OR to combine sets of records and eliminate duplicates.
     
     
   • Choose AND to include only records that appear in all selected Work Files.
     
     
   • Additionally, you can select AND NOT and choose a Work File whose patents you do not want to appear in your new merged Work File.
   
   
   
3. Click Merge and the Merge Work Files page displays.
   
   
4. Enter a name for the new merged Work File.
   
   
5. Optionally, you can choose to change the description and display parameters before saving your new Work File.
   
   
6. Click Save to save your new Work File.
   
   
7. The Work File Administration page displays showing your new Work File.